Ledger's First Dentist Visit

Yesterday, Ledger had his first dentist appointment.  We scheduled it at the same time as Daddy's bi-annual visit, so Daddy had to pretend to like going to the dentist to keep Ledger from being afraid.  I was worried that the noises would overwhelm him and he would act afraid, but NOT AT ALL.  He walked back to the exam room.  The hygenist counted his teeth and did a basic exam and he did great.  The hygenist looked at me and explained that on a first visit, that's all they typically do in order to take it slow with kids, but since he was doing so good, maybe we should try to polish.  I agreed and so she showed Ledger the polisher and let him touch it with his fingers and when she asked if he could polish his teeth, he said "Sure."  So she polished all of his teeth.  He liked using the water-gun and suction tube to rinse his mouth out.  Finally, Dr. Wells came in and looked at Ledger's teeth.  He proclaimed them to be fine teeth and we were done!  Ledger got a balloon on a stick and a toy from the toy box, so he was pretty happy. :)  I was so proud of Ledger.  He did better than expected, which is always his way.  Now I guess we'll see how he does at his next check-up in 6 months!

Locke: 3 Months Old

Locke is 3 months old!  I cannot believe it!  It seems like he's gotten much bigger in the last four weeks.  His smiles are now BIG and light up his whole face.  He is even laughing at his Daddy!!  He has recently learned how to blow bubbles with his mouth and will mimic you if you make raspberries at him.  Locke loves grabbing his feet and chewing on his hands.  He hasn't sucked his fingers yet, but he chews and chews on them.  This baby has THE most expressive eyebrows I've ever seen -- his whole emotion can be read in the way he raises/crinkles/angles his eyebrows.  He can even do the one eyebrow raise when he's surprised (something his Mommy has been trying to learn for a while!).  He does very well in the car -- as long as we're moving.  If we stop at a stop light too long, he wakes up and starts wailing.  It's been a very busy month, so this month he has had his first amusement park ride, trip to Colorado, boat ride, and swim in a pool.  

We didn't have a doctor's appointment this month, but we weighed him on the cat scale at my office and he is just under 15 pounds.  Mommy's little chunker. :)  He is still very congested in his lungs and coughs all the time.  Our doctor suggested that he may have a milk protein allergy like his big brother and that I should try a dairy-free diet while breastfeeding.  I have been off of milk products for about a month now (which is a big sacrifice for me -- no cheese, no butter -- but worth it if it makes him feel better) and overall he does seem a little better.  He is still congested though, so I'm not sure if it is the dairy-free diet or just the additional time that is making things better.

He spends his days with Daddy and things at home are starting to improve.  He is better at taking a bottle for Daddy since he figured out that you have to start feeding him before Locke even tells you he's hungry.  Because once he's hungry, he wants food NOW and can go from happy/laughing to screaming at the top of his lungs at the drop of a hat.  And once he's mad, he refuses to take a bottle.  He is also still having some episodes of discomfort about 30 minutes to an hour after feeding and we occasionally see him gag and swallow -- so we assume he is still having some "silent reflux".  We are still giving Prevacid, but we're lucky to remember it once a day instead of the recommended twice per day.  I think that if Mommy and Daddy can get their act together and get medications done, he would probably be more consistent in his daily comfort level.

At night, he is a fantastic sleeper.  I usually feed him around 11 and he will sleep through until 5 or 6 a.m. most nights.  And even on a "bad" night, he wakes up around 2 or 3 a.m. and then will go back to sleep until 5 a.m. or so.  So I am getting much more rest than I ever got with his big brother! :)  He continues to be a fantastic nurser and his feedings have become very quick and efficient -- usually about 5 minutes max.  (At our last doctor's appointment, she thought that this was too short for a feeding, but decided we shouldn't worry about it since he is obviously getting plenty of nutrition!)

We are so happy to have baby Locke in our lives.  Ledger just loves him and enjoys kissing, hugging, cuddling, and talking to "his" baby.  Locke is already toughening up to be in a big family of boys -- he is frequently on the receiving end of very aggressive kisses, hugs, or accidental wrestling by his big bro.

Colorado Vacation 2012 - Garden of the Gods

On Thursday, we spent the morning at Garden of the Gods.  We met up with Kim, Connor, and Pat for a hike up to our favorite rock formation: Siamese Twin rock.  The hike is easy enough for the kids to do on their own and takes us up to a really tall red set of "twin" red rocks that forms a perfect picture window that frames Pike's Peak in the background.  Chris and I hiked up there in 2007 (pre-kids) and were looking forward to going again with Ledger.  

Us in 2007. Someday soon I'm going to look this skinny again!

Ledger had a great time hiking with Connor.  He is MISTER independent... sometimes.  We packed Locke up in Kim's hiking pack.  We've used the pack before with Ledger and love how convenient it is.  Unfortunately, Locke was still just a little to young to use this correctly.  He would fall asleep and his little head would just bow down since there isn't head support for little babies.  It took a little finagling, but we figured out how to put him in it sideways to keep him upright and still make it easy to hike.  We had such a great time on our little adventure that we wanted Pam and Steve to try to get up to the formation too.  Despite a double knee replacement and not feeling particularly great that day, Pam hiked right on up to the formation and we were able to get family pictures up there!  It was really fun.  Unfortunately, Ledger fell and scraped his elbow on our way up the second time and after that he didn't want to walk any more.  So I carried Locke in the pack in my back and Ledger in my arms.  Exhausting? Yes.  A great work out?  Heck yeah! :)  

Ledger leads the pack up the trail.

Connor helping Ledger up the big rocks.

Locke was holding on for dear life...

Mommy and Locke taking a little break.

Mommy with a full load of kid.

More of our Colorado vacation here:

Colorado Vacation 2012 - Casa Bonita and Manitou Springs

Colorado Vacation 2012 - Santa's Workshop at the North Pole

Colorado Vacation 2012 - Santa's Workshop at the North Pole

...Continued from Colorado Vacation 2012...

On Wednesday, we took a family trip to Santa's Workshop theme park with Kim, Connor, Pat, and Virgil.  I was SO impressed with this theme park -- it's one of the few places that is geared towards small children.  Ledger LOVED hanging out with his cousin Connor and riding all of the rides -- some of them he even rode by himself.  His favorite rides were the boats and the train.  As you probably know, I am a complete wimp when it comes to riding anything that goes in circles.  Luckily for us, he had some family there willing to ride with him.  We especially loved that he got to ride with aunt Pat, Kim, Papa, and Daddy for different rides.  Locke also rode his first theme park ride -- a carousel -- with his Papa. I really loved watching all of my boys ride the fun rides together and have a good time.

Ledger and Daddy ride the cars.

Kim and Connor in front, Ledger and Daddy in back.
HANDS UP!!

Ledger liked these motorcycles.

I'm in a flying bird!

Aunt Pat took Ledger on this ride -- it went way too fast in circles for Mommy and Daddy.

Connor, Ledger, and Kim in the Tilt-a-Whirl.

Michel family at the North Pole!
(It's really cold and made of ice!)

Locke's first ride on the carousel with Papa.

Papa and Ledger on the Candy Cane Coaster.

Ledger feeding Santa's "reindeer".

To see more of our Colorado vacation:
Colorado Vacation 2012 - Casa Bonita and Manitou Springs
Colorado Vacation 2012 - Garden of the Gods